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IÌýgot a textÌýfrom my husband earlier. Simply said "Derry shortlisted for City of Culture." ÌýBeats asking what's for tea.ÌýMargaret Hodge the Culture secretaryÌýhad just it,Ìýin time for Â鶹ԼÅÄ Radio Foyle's lunchtime news. They ledÌýwith itÌýas a breaking story. TheÌýsecond story was that this Friday is D-Day for the city's name change. From Londonderry to Derry. So if the city did win what would the first UK City of CultureÌýbe called?

EighteenÌýyears ago I worked on IMPACT 92 a major international festival of culture, art and leisure in the city. The acronym stood for International Meeting Place for the Appreciation of Cultural Traditions. Basically the names of the city wereÌýthe twin elephants in the room. Despite the unwieldy title, it was a great year.

I even managed to brushÌýbottoms with Richard Eyre, then director of the National Theatre, as I reached for a vol au vent atÌýthe after show party of the NT'sÌýproduction of Electra.ÌýWe had just seenÌýa stunning Fiona Shaw, shaven-headed, covered in dust and literally spitting out her lines. The venue wasÌýtheÌýTemplemore Sports Complex. Badminton andÌýfive-a-side football, the usual fare. But for a few nights sport made way for the raw power of theatre.Ìý

But 1993 came and went as did another and another. And now the city has another chance at cultural gold.ÌýThis time it's faced those old elephants and called the bid Derry~Londonderry. So good they named it twice?

It'sÌýnow one of four cities in the running.ÌýThe other three cities areÌýBirmingham, Sheffield and Norwich.

I immediately phoned Oonagh McGillion, Derry City Council's acting head of development. I've been on and off the phone to her for the past few weeks asking "any news?".ÌýThe bid team, led byÌýthe city council, is also made up ofÌýILEX, the city's urban regeneration company and the Strategic Investment Board for NorthernÌýIreland. They'reÌýpleased, but want to start the work now.Ìý

As Oonagh says:Ìý"There are no cups won for this". They're waiting now for a detailed assessment report to be posted out which will show the strengths and weaknesses of the initial bid. Now that will make interesting reading.

We talked about the other three cites. She's not surprised Birmingham is there. Would have been more suprised if it was left off. Durham didn't make it. She thought it had a very strong bid.

Sheffield? Like Birmingham she feels it's been doing a lot of rebranding lately, and has delivered already on the "step change". Stay with the step change jargon as this is aÌýkey part of the City of Culture lingo. Basically the judges want to see if the winning city will be significantly enhanced by the City of Culture title.

Norwich?Ìý"the dark horse" she says. It's got a big student population. While it might not deliver on bigger audiences, the potential for culture to impact on the student life of the city and future generations would be the step change talked about. I feel the same about Norwich.ÌýThat and havingÌýStephen Fry as its cultural ambassador. Better check if he's tweeting about it.

So this is it now. This is where the bid ups a gear. Yes,ÌýSeamus Heaney supports it. Feargal SharkeyÌýwent in person to tell the commitee why he thought the city should win.ÌýBut while Lauren Laverne is one of the judges she might not be anÌýUndertones fan.

Derry~Londonderry now has until the 28th of May to submit final proposals. What will make it win? Apart from a new name?